Marriott made an announcement back in November of last year (read more here) that they had reach an agreement with Starwood’s board to take over the hotel company.
I was on a long flight at the time and Sebastian wrote a piece about the proposed merger. Now, the shareholders of the both companies are casting their votes at the end of March whether to approve the merger or not. I would expect it to pass.
Based on my personal experience of both Marriott and Starwood hotels (have spent two years or so of my life staying at each), their loyalty programs and the extensive feedback from my friends, I have zero faith that the combination of these loyalty programs would result anything positive for Marriott Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest members.
Enthusiasm Gap
Have you ever met anyone who would be enthusiastic about Marriott Rewards? Well. I have not. Then ask the same question about Starwood Preferred Guest. Most of my friends that are SPG members are enthusiastic about their program.
Elite Member Benefits Gap
Marriott Rewards doesn’t have a guaranteed late check out benefit, no lounge access or breakfast at resort locations, where people tend to redeem their points, and upgrades to beyond “club rooms” is not in the program terms and conditions for Marriott stays outside of Asia-Pacific.
Award Nights Gap
Marriott Rewards advertises that they don’t have blackout dates on award nights that is basically an outright lie. Properties can have blackout dates for months during a year with the approval from Marriott Rewards.
Also, properties don’t need to make award nights available when they have standard rooms available for sale unlike with Starwood. You are more likely being unable to redeem Marriott Rewards points versus SPG ones around the holidays or at places where people tend to vacation.
Communication Gap
Marriott Rewards keeps spinning how great their program is without backing anything up.
For years they claimed to have Points + Cash option that only meant that you can combine paid stays (at full non-discounted rates) with award nights while other programs were offering true Cash + Points where you could pay for an award stay partially using cash (basically buying points at a discounted rate).
Also, Marriott a few years back was soliciting Freddie votes and had a huge program devaluation the day after the voting for the awards was over. How honorable is that?
The current CEO keeps spinning how he doesn’t believe in program devaluation yet it keeps happening. This year 70% of the category changes were up and 30% down.
Corporate Culture Gap
Marriott is very conservative company that may party come from the Mormon religious background of it’s founders (and many staffers in the US) while Starwood is more dynamic.
Promotions Gap
Marriott Rewards has been on an autorun for the past few years having the same MegaBonuses year after year with the same number of bonus points available while the number of points required to awards keep climbing up.
Starwood runs several promotions to energize the membership. There are brand dependent promotions like the Sheraton free weekend night one or the extra bonus for visiting all 11 different SPG brands this year.
Aspirational Properties Gap
Does Marriott have any aspirational properties? None come to my mind while I could name quite a few from Starwood such as the St. Regis Bora Bora, W Maldives, Le Meridien Seychelles, St. Regis Punta Mita etc.
Brands Gap
What are the aspirational Marriott brands? Courtyard, Residence Inn, TownPlace Suites etc…. Marriott is strong on the lower end but missing on the high end. Ritz-Carlton probably was an aspirational brand at some point in time, but currently is merely a juiced up Marriott/JW and Marriott likes to think of them as distinctive, with Ritz having it’s own “program” (which in actuality is just a simple flag on the account).
Starwood actually has brands where many like to stay at such as W, Le Meridien, St Regis etc.
Conclusion
I could go on and on why I believe that the eventual merger of loyalty programs will be disastrous for both SPG and Marriott members. I believe that Marriott has underestimated the animosity of many SPG members towards Marriott, its loyalty program and brands. SPG is everything that Marriott isn’t.
Haven’t we all seen that when programs merge they tend to choose the worse parts of both programs and then just call it the best?
Don’t get me wrong. I do like and stay at Marriott properties, but the enthusiasm cap between Marriott and SPG members is irrevocable.
Although the merger may close during the second/third quarter of this year, I doubt that there are changes to the SPG program before late 2017 considering how long it took Marriott integrate both Protea and Delta hotels
i think the article is a bit rushed. do proof read; there are typo, grammar and punctuation mistakes littered throughout..
what is the best loyalty program after spg/marriott merger? hhonors?
IMHO it’s Hyatt GP. Already was before the merger.
Maybe a great loyalty program but too small a footprint.
and a rather unconventional use of the word ‘cap’
nobody knows. Hilton points are not worth much.
Hyatt could be the answer
Thank you for noting the typos, grammar and punctuation errors, which appear to have taken up residence in the Loyalty Lobby. As a Marriott Gold for years, yes I am concerned about the devaluations … however the only time I couldn’t get an award room online (blackout), I called and got what I needed. This article is merely a rant against Marriott and an uninformed prediction of what will happen after the merger. As you noted above: “rushed.”
Marriott – absolute bottom of barrel. Cannot imagine many loyal SPG fans sticking with Marriott. Hyatt will have a windfall – too bad Hyatt footprint is so small…
What will Amex do to replace SPG? Improve their MR program (hopefully)?
@disqust101:disqus – while Marriott isn’t the best or even close among the hotel chains, “bottom of the barrel”? There are LOTS of other hotel chains that are not even comparable to the Marriott chain: Choice, Days Inn, Best Western, Intercontinental to name just a few.
Try staying at a Days Inn or Holiday Inn, you’ll have a completely different perspective on Marriott afterwards.
I would argue that Marriott definitely has aspirational properties such as the Ritz Carlton Reserve resorts Phulay Bay (Thailand) or Mandapa (Bali) and don’t agree with your view that Ritz-Carlton hotels are juiced up Marriott/JW hotels. Yes, some SPG benefits are definitely better than MR but for me, I’ll wait and see what the new combined program will bring. I’ll not doom it already before any information is out.
Living in the UK I find Marriott difficult to qualify for as their footprint is poor and the properties are quite frankly old & chintzy un-inspiring places for elites – hardly any lounges. Key concentration is London where prices are sky high & focus is business not leisure focused.
When I travel with work Marriott is always priced outside my company travel cap. I’ve had some experiences in Western Europe & Asia with Marriott however but these are few are far between. Japan’s Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel is by far the best Marriott hotel I’ve stayed in, it’s a stunning property with the most amazing executive lounge. This to me is really a flagship hotel but wierdly they never mention it, tweet about it… very strange.
I also don’t like their marketing its too America focused – nothing is personalised to your world region. All I hear about is Bahamas, New York etc etc does not of the world exist to Marriott except London and Paris which they favour.
Equally SPG has even poorer coverage in the UK if non existent apart from a few shody Sheratons and an Aloft…. So I see no improvement for me in the tie up, same old same old….
After being Marriott Platinum for a few years I’ve given up and gone to Hilton and am now Diamond and find it easier to boost my stays in the UK hotels with prices, offers and sales much more encouraging – allowing me to travel for leisure worldwide and enjoy the elite benefits everywhere. Beyond that I’ll dabble in IHG as paid for Ambassador as they are good for Europe hotels and Intercontinental remains strong brand and choice in good locations
Timetable prediction — your not expecting changes to the spg program before late 2017 — let’s say changes happen in late 2017 — do you think that people will be getting top tier elite status through end of February 2019 based on 25 stays or 50 nights in calendar year 2017?
Do you think that people will be able to redeem at pretty much current levels (after March 2016 and presumably March 2017 devaluations) until late 2017, for stays well into 2018?
I hope so on both points, even if benefits post late 2017 will be reduced, points will be devalued, etc.
As a current spg platinum and former spg platinum I hope that changes are delayed. I like Marriott hotels, but please don’t promise me an enhanced future. When Marriott changes categories , they do not even bother to list hotels in a coherent or searchable manner, they even get some of their own hotels names wrong. It is this lack of respect for their customers that lost my business (more than the constant devaluations ). I left delta, an airline that I was loyal to for thirty years, for the same reason.
I am a Lifetime Platinum SGG member. I really wonder what will happen after they merge the two programs. Nobody can replace the SPG program.
Food & Beverage is another area where Marriott lags Starwood: can you think of a ‘destination’ restaurant or bar in a Marriott Property? I can’t, yet can think of many Starwood ones. Westin has their Superfood program for healthy eating, W’s always have healthy (including vegetarian and gluten free) options while Marriott seems to rely on lowest quality food-service ingredients and menu ‘formulas’ created by consultants, not chefs.
Agree with you 100%. As a SPG Platinum, not looking forward to this merger!
I’ve been SPG Plat for a few years and I’m definitely not looking forward for the merger…. I’ll probably drop (sadly) SPG properties and focus my points with Hyatt or IHG. Marriott’s footprint outside of North America isn’t great. Though SPG is not as big, it does offer more choice in Europe and APAC. Hyatt is nice but its footprint is really tiny…. Let’s not rush to conclusions but if they keep most of MR’s programme features….
You say not to jump to conclusions, yet you do. Enjoy your future stays at Holiday Inns, I’ll continue to enjoy my Platinum status at Marriott.
I, for one, am a Marriott Rewards fan. They are far better than Starwood or Hilton as far as dollars you need to spend before you can redeem a reward night. And, when I travel internationally, Starwood or Hyatt almost never have properties in the cities I visit (some of which are very large international European cities!) I find that the bloggers tend to love SPG, but for me, I would have to spend 10x more money before earning a free night. I’m about to redeem points for a week long stay at one of Marriott’s top beach properties, and it only took me about a year to earn enough points to cash in that week.
If you don’t like Marriott’s program, then don’t use it. But don’t propose that just because you don’t like it — then that must mean it doesn’t work for anyone. I personally have no use for SPG and their model.
I must ask the question as why does the J.D. Power North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study for 2015 shows SPG brands consistently ranked quite low. W Hotels last in the Luxury Segment while Ritz-Carlton is 1st (not exactly sure why St. Regis is not listed). Sheraton is last in the Upper Upscale Segment while Marriott is 4th. Aloft and Four Points at the bottom of the Upscale Segment.
Here is the full report. Yes, this is one report and I am not sure if there is an inherent bias, but this doesn’t bode well for the SPG brands.
http://www.jdpower.com/sites/default/files/2015103_NA%20Hotel%20Guest%20Satisfaction_Final_Rev2.pdf
All things considered…this article echo’s my concerns. Having been an SPG Plat for 8 years I tried Marriott Plat for a year at the same time, didn’t like it compared to SPG (ditto for Hilton Plat)…then 3 years later end up as a Marriot Plat again complements of the Delta Hotels buyout/merger in Canada, still don’t like it compared to SPG….so yes, things rarely change for the better (ref Delta Hotels/ Delta Privileges downgrade). Dilemma is burn up SPG points as Plat in 2016 or gamble on Marriott Plat match and favorable points conversions. Not so confident in MR’s assurance’s…Seems strange I that in the end circling back to IHG Plat with Amb status might end up the primary program some day.
Marriott is such an average brand anyway.
“I believe that Marriott has underestimated the animosity of many SPG members towards Marriott, its loyalty program and brands. SPG is everything that Marriott isn’t.” – very well said John
This article did a great job of comparing the relative value of a Marriott and a Starwoods point, but what is missing from the whole picture is how much each of those costs the member to acquire. If you are going to compare apples and oranges you need to make sure they are roughly of equal stature across the comparison. Showing somebody a big orange and a small apple is not an accurate comparison.